Rhododendron Rhapsody

I learned in grade school that the state flower of Washington State is the rhododendron. But rhododendrons didn’t grow well in Eastern Washington where I grew up. My mother planted a rhododendron bush in the front yard when we moved into the first house my parents owned in 1962. She nursed that bush along, but it never amounted to much.

Now I live in Seattle, where the rhododendrons bloom with abandon every spring. Or so I’m told. This is my first time to experience their glory. And are they ever showy.

In the Seattle area, the plants can grow to tree-size, though many are pruned into bushes. The colors of the flowers range from white to purple, and they come in every shade of pink and red in between. Many of the red and purple blooms are so bright as to be neon. My favorite are the white with bright pink streaks, which look like peppermint candies.

Rhododendrons can sometimes be confused with azaleas. Both are part of the rhododendron genus. But rhododendron plants grow larger than azaleas and rhododendron leaves are larger and more leathery (and shinier, in my opinion). Also, rhododendron have ten stamens and huge bell-shaped blooms, while azalea blooms are more trumpet-shaped with no more than five or six stamens. Azaleas have a broader color palette, including oranges and yellows.

Now that it is June, many of the rhododendron blossoms are fading. But for all of May, they brightened my day. Two large pink rhododendron bushes bloomed on the corner where I turned into my daughter’s neighborhood. A purple tree marked the turn onto the thoroughfare. And everywhere I walked in my own neighborhood, I smiled at their extravagance.

I will enjoy them as long as I can, and then await their return next spring.

Which flowers are your favorite?